Page 51 of Under My Skin

“Why…why didn’t she tell me, Mal?” I rasped as my eyes started to sting.

“Because she’s an evil fucking shrew,” he bit out.

“Not Vicki. Dani,” I clarified. “Why didn’t she say something sooner? The second she showed up at my house? Hell, why did she even agree to any of this in the first place if she thought I was that much of a heartless asshole? Was she trying to get back at me for what happened to Amara?”

He shook his head. “No, that’s not Dani’s style. Never has been. She doesn’t have a malicious or deceitful bone in her body. She was…fuck, B, Mar’s death paralyzed her, and she was so desperate to find a way to make it work with Isaac that she would have done just about anything. Your fucking asinine plan to hire someone to pretend to be your girlfriend was a godsend for her. It was also a last resort.”

“I know it was, but…I mean, she could have said something to me. Screamed at me for abandoning Isaac the day we met.”

He blew out a long breath. “You have no idea how damn cruel Vicki was to her. She was fucking sadistic. The girls wouldn’t give us Vicki’s name, but they told us what the conniving snakesaid to them. When Dani called one last time the day she brought Isaac home from the hospital and asked if Vicki could pass on a message that Amara was dead, she actually told Dani that she didn’t care if her sister had been abducted by aliens and that you didn’t ever want to hear from her again. That was the last time she threatened to press charges and file a lawsuit, and Dani was so terrified of losing custody of Isaac if that happened that she decided that was it and she’d do it on her own.”

My blood started boiling all over again.Whythe fuck had Vicki done any of this shit? I knew she was obsessed with optics in the press, but to go so far as to keepmy fucking child– who I’d been an all-too-willing participant in creating –from me? And then to be so cruel to the mother of that child, who was begging for me to step up to the plate and be a father? Who did that?

“She had no one but you,” I sniffed as I balled my hand into a fist.

“Yep, pretty much. I did what I could for her. Had groceries delivered. Watched Isaac a few times when I didn’t have other commitments. Hell, I even had Morgan just slip some cash into her purse when she wasn’t looking a couple of times. But she knew she needed to find something sustainable, and she didn’t want handouts.”

“And then Morgan told her about my offer,” I finished for him. “And she needed the money so badly that she didn’t care where it came from.”

Fuck, just thinking about how desperate and exhausted and devastated she’d been that day made my heart squeeze so tight I could hardly breathe. Ineverwanted to see her that way again. I wouldn’t let it happen. No matter what.

“Pretty much,” he agreed. “I can’t say for sure, but given what I know about her, she probably never meant for you to find out who she was. She probably planned on doing what you neededher to do and just walking away once it was over. You can’t be mad at her for trying to provide for that little man.”

“I’m not,” I murmured. “I don’t think I’m capable of getting mad at her. I just wish I’d known so I could have been there for her from the beginning. And now I’ve fucked it all up.”

“What do you mean?”

“I, uh…I kissed her when I was dropping her off at home tonight. She stopped me and reminded me this relationship was business, and I told her it wasn’t just business to me anymore. Begged her to let me rip up that contract and give this a real shot. I pushed it too far, and she snapped and the floodgates opened and she just startedscreaming. Shit, Mal. I’ve never seen someone look so…so fucking shattered. Like her whole world came crashing down all over again. I just…I just want…” I trailed off as I swallowed the lump in my throat.

It was useless saying what I wanted, because I wasn’t going to get it. Not now, and probably not ever.

“Whoa, wait a second. Did I just hearBraden Hicksadmit he’s found a woman he wants for more than a night?” he mock gasped.

I rolled my eyes. “It doesn’t matter what I want. She hates me, and I don’t blame her.Ihate me right now. Her sister’s dead because I couldn’t keep my dick in my pants.”

Malachi shook his head and put a hand on my shoulder. “No, B. Don’t go there, man. Amara had a chronic illness she didn’t know about, and her body had already been through so much stress from delivering that beautiful baby boy that it just couldn’t handle anything else. An infection killed her, not you.”

“But if I hadn’t…” My voice cracked as I tried desperately to contain my emotions. “If I hadn’t gotten her pregnant?—”

“Stop, Braden,” he cut me off, shifting on the couch so he could look me in the eyes. “This isn’t your fault. It’s no one’s fault. It’s just a fucking shitty, unfair thing that happened. Andas for Dani, she doesn’t hate you. She’s upset and grieving and overwhelmed, but she doesn’t hate you. If she did, she’d just cut you out of her life without a word.”

“She tried. She said she couldn’t do this anymore and stormed out of the car,” I sniffed, squeezing my eyes shut to stop the tears from leaking out.

“Yeah, but she was fighting with you before that. That means she cares enoughtofight. Just give her some time and let her know you’ll still be here when she’s ready to talk. She’ll come around.”

I nodded and took a deep breath, then took out my phone. I wanted so much to hear Dani’s voice again, even if it was her shouting at me some more, but calling her wasn’t what she needed right now. She needed space. So I settled for a text. One message. Then the ball would be in her court.

Me

I know you need space right now, beautiful. And I’ll give you as much as you need. But just know I’m not going anywhere. I’ll always be here for you and Isaac, no matter what. I care too much about both of you to walk away.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

DANIELA

Lina walkedout of the kitchen, where she had been slaving away for the past hour, carrying a big plate of what looked like round cornbread with melted cheese coming out of the sides. Placing it on the coffee table, she bent down to where she was at eye level with me and put a gentle hand on my shoulder.

“You need to eat something, cariña,” she murmured. “Just try half of one for me? ¿Por favor?”

---